Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Associate professor of Architecture, Architecture Department, Faculty of Engineering, Benha University.
2
Assistant Professor of Architecture, Architecture Department, Faculty of Engineering, at Delta University for Science and Technology.
Abstract
The place is integral to health. Our everyday environments play a fundamental role in shaping how healthy we are, as individuals and as communities. Where we live, work, and play has a lot to do with why some people are healthier than others and can have a key role in determining why some people are not as healthy as they otherwise could be. A wealth of research demonstrates that place matters when it comes to health.
Public places that promote health, trust, and inclusion are essential. Every community needs such places, where all feel welcome and where all can “enjoy being part of the great congress of humanity”. Good public spaces allow for healthy public life - for social interactions both planned and spontaneous on sidewalks or at bus stops, in parks, at street fairs, urban plazas, outdoor concerts, and art installations.
In Egypt and as in many developing countries, our most important shared places - our public spaces - continue to be planned and designed without considering all users or an entire range of well-being. It’s almost as though people in the fields of public health and urban planning and design speak different languages.
It is argued that our public places can help to unite us, and they can provide everyone with opportunities for good health. That’s what this research is about. It aims to bridge the fields of public health and community planning and design in new ways, with a focus on supporting inclusive healthy public spaces. Such spaces don’t just build themselves. They don’t happen in a vacuum. They need to be planned, created, refreshed, and promoted, intentionally, with the involvement of an engaged community
This research aims to explore how new communities in Egyptian cities are designing and using their public spaces to improve the health and well-being of their citizens. In this context, this research attempts to develop a framework as a tool for evaluating and creating healthy, inclusive public places that support health equity. The Framework and supporting analysis presented in this report represent a synthesis of research and expertise in public health and urban planning and design, focusing on those social determinants of health that can be viewed clearly through the lens of public space to promote healthier public spaces in Egyptian cities.
Keywords
Main Subjects
)
View on SCiNiTO